A Toronto man linked to a string of bank robberies was charged with killing 3 people with a crossbow

Police stand at a crime scene in front of a house where three people have died in an incident involving a crossbow, according to local media reports in the Scarborough suburb of Toronto, August 25, 2016. Reuters/Mark Blinch TORONTO (Reuters) - A Toronto man linked to a string of bank robberies was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after three people were killed in a crossbow attack on a quiet suburban street, police in Canada's largest city said on Friday.

Brett Ryan, 35, who appeared in court briefly Friday morning, was previously arrested in 2008 and faced numerous charges as the "fake beard bandit," who committed robberies in disguise, police said.

Two men and a woman died at the house in the city's east end on Thursday. Police responding to a call about a stabbing found the three bleeding on the driveway outside a nearby garage.

One of the victims made a 911 call before dying, according to a local newspaper report, and the suspect was also wounded.

Ryan was jailed for three years and nine months in the bank robbery cases, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. His lawyer declined to comment.

Ryan, who next appears in court on Sept. 2, was dressed in what appeared to be a white poncho during his court appearance. He kept his hands clasped, blinked rapidly and did not make eye contact with the public gallery.

In another incident on Thursday that police said was related to the killings, police evacuated a downtown building due to a suspicious package. They gave no details on how the cases were related and declined to comment on Friday.